You Saw Me

3

"Ellie? Honey are you there? Can I come in?"

My best friend Gayle softly knocked on the door to the bedroom I had barricaded myself into. She had kindly offered me to stay at their annex in the back of the garden. Gayle had her own real estate agency and her husband, Xander, was in finance. They lived in a huge two story house on a large estate. 

"Yes..." I replied in a small, quavering voice. I hadn't left the bed since Gayle came to pick me up at the house. My house. Our house. I had called her after confronting Adam with the texts on his phone. It had turned ugly very quickly. I was hysterical, crying and yelling at him. I thought we were happy. I told him to get out, but in the end I left. Gayle came as fast as she could, didn't ask any questions or ask anything of me. She carried my bags to the annex, tucked me in and let me rest. 

Gayle slowly opened the door and slid in as if to keep the sunlight from bothering me. I was unsure how long I had slept, but my body suddenly started sending small signals of needing the bathroom, hunger and a massive throbbing headache. The little guesthouse had a small bathroom, a tea kitchen, a small sitting area and a seperate bedroom. It was the perfect place for me to hide. I sat up in bed and looked at Gayle. I could tell that she was concerned and tried my best to blink the tears away and give her a half smile. Gayle winced at my attempt to look normal and from her expression I could tell that I must be an awful mess to look at. 

"Did you sleep well?" Gayle asked while fetching a cold drink from the mini-fridge in the tea kitchen. She came over and sat down on the bed and opened a jar of paracetamol. I held out my hand and she dropped two pills in the palm of it. I immediately swallowed the pills with a big gulp of the drink she had brought me. The taste was tart and I tried to focus on the can to see what it was. 

"Some Martini drink of some sort", Gayle said before I could make out the words on the can. "You look like someone who needs a stiff drink". 

I snickered at her and emptied the can in one gulp. Then I got up and went to the bathroom. When I caught a glimpse of myself in the bathroom mirror I made a small jump. My long, dark hair was a mess. I had made a bun on top of my head, but it looked more like a bird's nest now. My eyes were puffy and swollen from all the crying. The bags under my eyes made me look like a completely different person. No wonder Gayle had winced when she saw me. 

"Gayle, I..." I began, but she put up her hand to stop me from talking. 

"You stay here as long as you need. My home is your home. Don't worry about it. And as for Dr. Fuckface Parsons, we'll deal with him when you've rested. It took all I had not to scream at him when I picked you up -"

"I screamed a lot at him." Tears started forming again and Gayle moved closer to hug me. 

"It's okay. You can scream and yell all you want. He's ruined the best thing that ever happened to him", she whispered in my ear. 

Part of me knew she was right, but at that time and place it felt like maybe I had never really been good enough for him.